West Jordan Poised To Change Its Governmental Structure

Early voting results show that a majority of West Jordan residents voted to change their form of city government.

Currently, West Jordan has a council/manager form of government, meaning the city manager, appointed by the city council, has the executive power.

“It would be like voting for your legislators for the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then having them appoint someone to be the governor,” said Melissa Johnson, a former West Jordan mayor and proponent of the proposal.

Johnson said the mayor in West Jordan’s current form of government technically sits on the city council and called position more “ceremonial.”

As mayor, Johnson said her hands were tied when it came to making executive decisions about the budget and personnel.

“I had people who would come to me with complaints about city staff, and as the mayor, I couldn’t do anything about it,” she said.

Opponents of the government change say it’s inflexible and the city can’t go back to its current form of government if it ends up not working.

Unofficial returns showed 53 percent of West Jordan voters supported the measure. A final vote count is expected before the end of the month.